Trangia's don't work in the cold

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
For those who still insist Trangia's don't work in the cold



TRANGIAINCOLD.jpg
 

Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
4,041
66
51
Saudi Arabia
After all, what do the Swedish Army know about cold weather....

On a side note,
I was watching a cooking programme on BBC Lifestyle, Scandinavian cooking or something like it.
The chef was cooking something on a boat, what was he using?

A Trangia (27 I think)
 

Graham_S

Squirrely!
Feb 27, 2005
4,041
66
51
Saudi Arabia
on a trangia the burner is not sitting on the snow, and is insulated by a couple of inches of air.
so no heat drain there.
If you are out in really cold conditions, Trangia make a stand for it to keep it off the snow, plus (as I've just discovered) an extreme cold pre-heating kit.
The military version is a different matter though.
 
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PDA1

Settler
Feb 3, 2011
646
5
Framingham, MA USA
Probably the most important factors with any alcohol stove are 1 protect from wind - the flame is quite weak, even in pressurised stoves like the penny stove - and 2 insulate from the cold ground. Most alcohol stoves rely on the alcohol boiling to "blossom" and contact with the cold ground will suck away any heat and prevent the stove from achieving its full potential. The Trangia system in the photograph completely envelopes the stove, preventing even strong winds from interfering, and the stove is held a few cm above the ground. Ergo - works in the cold. SIde burners have an additional problem in extreme conditions, once it blooms, you place a pan full of snow on it and the cold pan sucks away the heat and stops the alcohol boiling. Over here in the NE USA, you can get Methanol easily. It has a lower boiling point than ethanol and is sold as a petrol line antifreeze. It's the preferred fuel in the winter. Oh, you also keep your water bottle and fuel bottle inside your sleeping bag overnight. I usually place a scrap of foil underneath the stove with a splash of alcohol in it as a primer. light it and place the stove over it. It warms the fuel in the stove wonderfully.
 

Shewie

Mod
Dec 15, 2005
24,259
26
49
Yorkshire
I've been using 95% pure methanol for a couple of months now, I've found it much better than normal meths. I've got a small square of welders mat under my mini atomic which helps to prime and soak up any spills.
 

rik_uk3

Banned
Jun 10, 2006
13,320
28
70
south wales
Probably the most important factors with any alcohol stove are 1 protect from wind - the flame is quite weak, even in pressurised stoves like the penny stove - and 2 insulate from the cold ground. Most alcohol stoves rely on the alcohol boiling to "blossom" and contact with the cold ground will suck away any heat and prevent the stove from achieving its full potential. The Trangia system in the photograph completely envelopes the stove, preventing even strong winds from interfering, and the stove is held a few cm above the ground. Ergo - works in the cold. SIde burners have an additional problem in extreme conditions, once it blooms, you place a pan full of snow on it and the cold pan sucks away the heat and stops the alcohol boiling. Over here in the NE USA, you can get Methanol easily. It has a lower boiling point than ethanol and is sold as a petrol line antifreeze. It's the preferred fuel in the winter. Oh, you also keep your water bottle and fuel bottle inside your sleeping bag overnight. I usually place a scrap of foil underneath the stove with a splash of alcohol in it as a primer. light it and place the stove over it. It warms the fuel in the stove wonderfully.

Trangia's work better IN wind to a degree. The base design means you can run these sets in a hurricane. You can get them in the USA, better all round than pop can burner setups.


Methanol, well less than a pound a litre locally or even with postage its only £1.38 a litre from
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Biodiesel-Met...Equipment_Lab_Supplies_ET&hash=item35b31a767f Been using it for ages it works fine.
 

Martti

Full Member
Mar 12, 2011
919
18
Finland
After all, what do the Swedish Army know about cold weather....

Actually, the official Finnish Defence Forces magazine Ruotuväki ran an interesting article on Swedish and Norwegian military clothing against their Finnish counterparts in 2005. Their clothing system was based on goretex while Finns still used their wool uniforms from 1980s. The Scandinavians quickly noticed that it was no match for the cold environment of Lapland after the temperature had past minus ten degrees in celsius.
 

resnikov

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Actually, the official Finnish Defence Forces magazine Ruotuväki ran an interesting article on Swedish and Norwegian military clothing against their Finnish counterparts in 2005. Their clothing system was based on goretex while Finns still used their wool uniforms from 1980s. The Scandinavians quickly noticed that it was no match for the cold environment of Lapland after the temperature had past minus ten degrees in celsius.

You wouldn't have link to an english translation of that article would you?
 

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